The Equal Justice Society is seeking experienced candidates for the position of Director of Law and Public Policy.
The Director of Law and Public Policy is a member of the management team of EJS and participates in the overall management and development of the organization. The Director reports to the President of EJS.
EJS is a national strategy group driven by a vision of a society where race is no longer a barrier to opportunity. Our mission is to heighten consciousness on race in the law and popular discourse. Grounded by an agenda that seeks progressive legal reform, we engage a three-pronged strategy that incorporates communications, law and policy, and fostering a “grand alliance” among our progressive allies.
Our legal strategy aims to broaden conceptions of present-day discrimination using cognitive science, structural analysis, and real-life experience. We provide attorneys with tools to challenge the flawed assumptions underlying current anti-discrimination doctrine.
The Director of Law and Public Policy is responsible for managing and directing the implementation of multiple programmatic responsibilities in pursuit of the organization’s goals and strategies. The Director will be expected to:
* Supervise and prepare legal activity, including appellate briefs, amicus curiae, and, eventually, impact litigation involving issues of critical importance to EJS’s mission;
* Direct research by EJS staff, consultants and outside academics and social scientists on various legal and social justice issues;
* Plan and prepare law related conferences that bring together legal scholars, practitioners, law students, social scientists, journalists and other concerned activists to stimulate analysis and progressive reform of key areas of the law, with a particular emphasis on civil rights and social justice;
* Direct outreach to law schools, students and faculty to engage in research, public policy initiatives and legal action and supervising legal and/or research interns.
The Director of Law and Public Policy should have at least five (5) years of academic and/or legal experience, particularly in the area of civil rights, critical race theory, and/or the use of social science and the law. The ability to engage legal scholars, practitioners and grassroots activists is essential to successful performance. The Director will supervise a full-time staff attorney and a fellow, additional legal staff as the organization grows, occasional interns and help coordinate and direct other program staff.
The position is an exempt, professional and management position. The Director is expected to be a senior, experienced manager. A demonstrated record of working in coalition with other organizations is required.
Interested candidates should send a résumé and letter of interest on or after July 1* and sent no later than July 15, 2009, to info@equaljusticesociety.org and sent via postal mail (postmarked by July 15) to:
Search Committee
Equal Justice Society
260 California Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94111
* We ask that applications be sent on or after July 1 due to our office move taking place June 26-30.